"The Morning Briefing" is SmartPlanet's daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we're reading about global banks and changes in regulations.

1.) Report: Bank of America considers checking account fee shake-up. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Bank of America is planning to introduce a monthly fee for customers who possess checking accounts unless they agree to bank online.

2.) Europe's smaller banks approach ECB, bid for loans. Hundreds of Europe's smaller banks have bid for financial assistance through the ECB (European Central Bank). The three-year LTRO loans offered this week have induced approximately 800 banks across Europe to apply -- many from 'core' countries led by Germany, rather than countries on the periphery.

3.) Do banks need to learn to 'go it alone'? In relation to the European LTRO loans working as a means of both restructuring and refinancing the Eurozone to ensure rising economic stability, what do banks need to do in order to survive after the crisis, and can they continue to rely on external sources of support?

4.) Wall Street bonuses down just 14 percent, comptroller says. A report released by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli Wednesday estimates that while Wall Street bonuses were down 14 percent in 2011 from the previous year, banking profits have been sliced in half. DiNapoli estimated that profits gleaned from broker-dealer operations of NYSE firms dropped by at least 50 percent in 2011.

5.) U.S. bank lending rises, bodes well for the economy? For the first time in approximately four years, banks within the United States are reportedly issuing loans at a fast pace. Does this bode well for economic recovery?